1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing poultry feet and the like and more particularly to such a method and apparatus which has particular utility in the commercial processing of poultry by automatically and completely removing the skin and other undesired portions from the feet of the poultry thus permitting poultry feet to be processed and sold at a price compatible with the market demand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While the prior art includes methods and apparatus for performing various poultry processing operations, insofar as the applicant is aware there are no known methods or apparatus for automatically removing the skin and other undesirable portions from poultry parts and, in particular, from poultry feet.
The demand for poultry feet as a specialty food item, particularly in the Orient, is relatively great. Approximately three hundred tons per month are currently being exported from the United States. However, the supply of poultry feet is limited and the cost is kept relatively high because of the lack heretofore of a fully automatic method and apparatus for processing such poultry parts. Conventional practice calls for the poultry feet to be skinned by batch processing methods in potato peeling machines. However, the labor required to remove the feet from the conveyor lines subsequent to other poultry processing operations, to sever undesirable portions from the feet and to transfer the feet to and from the batch processing machines makes the cost of poultry feet processed by such methods unattractive.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus for processing poultry parts and the like automatically, dependably and economically to permit the sale of such parts at a commercially acceptable price and which has particular utility in the processing of poultry feet.